It is an extremely well-known fact by everyone that the apparel industry all over the world has been making nothing but progress, as of late. Companies, organizations, and even entrepreneurs everywhere have started to invest their time and money into creating new businesses that deal in buying and selling of different kinds of apparel, from scratch.
One of the flourishing businesses related to apparel in 2019 is T-shirt printing. People no longer want to spend up to $400 on plain Calvin Klein T-shirts when they can just log onto local websites, design a shirt according to their preferences and get it shipped directly to their home. Let’s be real: not many people will pass up an opportunity to shop this way.
VARIOUS METHODS OF PRINTING T-SHIRTS:
If this is your first time buying a printed shirt you are in the process of ordering online, or you are thinking of starting your very own T-shirt printing business, here is your comprehensive guide to this specific apparel business.
First and foremost, it is important that you are aware of the distinctive contrast between various shirt printing strategies and methods. Whereas some printing procedures are most appropriate for explicit textures, in the meantime, a specific printing strategy may be most appropriate for an occupation relying upon the activity’s volume. Additionally, the printing strategy which you will end up utilizing will be likewise affected by the quantity of hues in the structure you are wanting to print. In the simplest of terms, we can say that it is extremely hard to choose one proper strategy for printing, especially now that we have such a massive variety available to us.
Following is a list of methods which will help you decide which method is the best for you when designing and printing your T-shirt:
SCREEN PRINTING
One of the most common strategies used by people these days when it comes to printing their own T-shirts is none other than screen printing. It is actually a method which has been utilized for decades, if not centuries. As of now, screen printing can be done by hand and on machines, as well.
The most noteworthy thing about screen printing is the use of inks. These inks are much thicker when compared to inks used in other methods, which obviously leads to them lasting longer and giving the shirt much more vibrant looks and colors. As long as your printing service is using a high-quality ink, your shirts colors will not fade away for a long time.
With a gallon of this special in, one can print up to 500 shirts at one, which makes this method very cost effective. T-shirts produced with screen printing can be of almost any fabric, have maximum durability and the best colors.
DIRECT-TO-GARMENT PRINTING
DTG printing, or direct-to-garment printing as we know it officially, is another method of printing T-shirts in which we make use of inkjet technology which is capable of printing photographic prints of very good quality and the most vibrant colors. But what makes this method special is that the prints are printed directly onto the T-shirt you have ordered. Hence, if the design or artwork you want on your T-shirt is too complex or unique, you might want to make use of this method to get the best results since even the tiniest details will be printed amazingly.
DTG printing is the ideal choice for those who want to print a small number of T-shirts, such as 1-6. The time it takes to print a shirt through DTG is much lesser as compared to screen printing because the set up takes less time. It will literally take you less than half an hour to have your shirt ready.
If you’re making a business of DTG printing, it is a great choice since the machines are of a normal size, and won’t take too much space. The ink cartridges are also very neat to utilize.
When it comes to fabrics, it is important that your shirt is of cotton because that is how you will receive the best colors. Even though these colors will fade away over time, and the machines may be extremely expensive, the results of this method make the struggle worth it.
PRINTING THROUGH HEAT TRANSFERS
In the simplest of terms, this method makes use of laying sheets of material which is to be transferred on top of garments. Then the heat is pressed on them so that the customized graphics can permanently be applied to T-shirts.
Before printing, the image we want is primarily printed on special heat transfer paper digitally, with the help of a solvent ink, which lets the design be transferred to the t-shirt once it is pressed with a heat press machine. The best thing about printing through heat transfer is that you can print on almost all fabrics and materials, your machines will need little-to-no maintenance and the entire process is very neat.
In heat transfer printing, we have subcategories known as:
- Dye-sublimation printing, which is an expensive method in which graphics are printed digitally and then the dye transferred to the T-shirts. This dye-based ink, when heated strongly, turns into a gas, which ensures that the graphic is not on the shirt, but actually a part of it when the process is over. It is a very soft and long-lasting method.
- The plastisol transfer printing, which is time-consuming method which is almost the same as screen printing. The only difference is that the graphic image is primarily printed through ink-jet on plastisol transfer paper. This paper is then heat pressed on the shirt and the design is transferred. This neat method is very popular amongst entrepreneurs dealing with T-shirts.
COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN-CUT (CAD) PRINTING
This method is also quite similar to heat transfer, but is mostly used when printing names, logos and numbers onto CAD-Cut vinyl material. These designs are then heat pressed onto jerseys and sports T-shirts.
In the simplest of terms, in this method, we use a machine to cut out letters and designs on pieces of colored vinyl, before heat pressing each and every vinyl.
This method is usually good for smaller orders, such as a sports teams’ jersey orders. The shirts last quite a long time, and designs can be printed on almost all fabrics.
Thus, you know your printing methods now. Place your order now!